


Mysterious Mysteries

by VileVenom



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Drabbles, Inspired by Music, Multi, OT3, Post-Cave, Pre-Cave
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-21 03:02:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10676352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VileVenom/pseuds/VileVenom
Summary: A collection of short Mystery Skulls drabbles from my Tumblr. Currently all are inspired by music, though suggestions and requests are always open.Will add tags as necessary





	1. Little Lion Man

**Author's Note:**

> I've found, in the past, throwing on some music and writing whatever came to mind was good practice for keeping up with my writing skills. And given how long it's been since I've done so, I figured, why not?
> 
> First: Little Lion Man- Mumford and Sons

Arthur wheezed as he ran, scrambling for somewhere to hide until the pursuing footsteps stopped. Once upon a time, in elementary and middle school, he would have stood up for himself; called out the kids trying to bully him, and protect those who they would turn on next. Unfortunately, as puberty hit Arthur found himself growing lanky and thin, the towering stature he once held over the other kids in his grade diminishing significantly as the rest of his classmates grew more stocky, many joining sports teams as he fiddled with mechanics in his uncle’s shop.

None of which boded well for the socially awkward teen, given that with his loss of status as class guardian, he quickly and easily became target number one for those he once denounced.

He glanced back as he whipped around a corner, nearly letting out a startled shriek as he ran smack into a broad chest and immediately fell backwards onto his tailbone, a pained grunt escaping him. He shook as he began to spew apologies, too preoccupied by the quickly advancing jeers of the boys that had been following him to pay much attention as to who he had run into, figuring they were probably in cahoots with the others anyway. All the well built jock types seemed to be friends with each other, and none of them were fond of Arthur.

“You okay, hermano?” A soft baritone spoke as the boys chasing Arthur rounded the corner as well, the blonde finally looking up properly to see Lewis smiling down at him. Lewis Pepper, once the shortest kid in the class and such a fan of alpacas that he used to have a soft purple plush key chain permanently attached to his backpack. He was an easy target for bullies, and Arthur had often stood up for him when they were small, until Arthur moved to a different middle school in the school district closer to his Uncle’s shop and the two had lost touch. And he was now towering over Arthur with a friendly smile on his face, all broad shoulders and mountain tall.

Arthur swallowed thickly as the boys who had been chasing him came to a halt, Lewis glancing up at them and tilting his head, a small frown gracing his features. “Hey, guys. What’re you doing, chasing Arthur, here? I’m hoping you were just goofing and not seriously intending on doing anything untoward with him.”

One of the boys grunted, two others already shuffling away. “’Course not, Lewis. We were just giving him a hard time.”

“I should think you might want to reconsider that, next time,” Lewis said, his smile firmly back in place, but the threat obvious in his tone. The boys let out a collective titter of affirmation before disappearing back around the corner of the building.

“Th-thanks, man,” Arthur stuttered, taking Lewis’ proffered hand and lifting himself back to his feet.

“Of course, hermano. I think I owe you,” Lewis chuckled, clasping Arthur’s shoulder and giving him a shortly, friendly shake. “I haven’t seen you in a few years. My family’s restaurant isn’t too far, would you like to catch up?”

“I’d like that a lot, Lewis,” Arthur nodded, a smile finally gracing his own features as the two headed down the street.


	2. Stressed Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was Stressed out by Twenty-One Pilots

Arthur stared down at the photo album in his lap, an anguished look on his face as tears pricked the corners of his eyes. His uncle had been so understanding since he’d come from the hospital. His memory was fuzzy at best over what had all happened, but what he knew for certain was that something had attacked the trio in the cave, and now he was down one limb, and one best friend.

No one knew where Lewis had gone. There had apparently been a cave collapse once Vivi had gotten him out, his bleeding too profuse for them to dally long enough to realize that Lewis had disappeared. Vivi’s memory was even more unreliable than Arthur’s, her’s blocking out everything that even remotely had to do with Lewis. Trauma, the doctors had said.

Arthur brushed his fingers over a picture of the three of them sat together on a couch, only a year after the three had met, Mystery was still small enough that Vivi could carry him like a baby in her arms. Lewis on one end, Arthur on the other with Vivi and Mystery squashed in the middle, grins on their faces, the coffee table in front of them covered in snack bowls and plates of sweets, celebrating the official recognition of the Mystery Skulls as a full fledged paranormal investigation crew.

Arthur chocked out a sob as he clenched his eyes shut, his fingers pressing into the album, the pages wrinkling under the pressure. He would find Lewis, once he was allowed to leave his Uncle’s house when his arm was healed enough. He would help Vivi remember. He would fix things. He had to.


	3. Rather Be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was a bit odd because I started off listening to Rather Be by Clean Bandit (Magician remix) but them I let my music play and it muddled my thought process a little. Oh well.

Arthur stared at the other two, Mystery having disappeared at some point when Lewis and Vivi had declared they needed to have a ‘talk’ with Arthur. He had been nervous, of course, given that Lewis had only returned to them less than a year ago, their relationships finally settling back into comfort after Vivi and Arthur regained their memories, and the green demon had been dealt with. Were the other two finally going to tell Arthur they were happy together and that he needed to find his own place so they could move on with their lives? Lewis may have been dead, but he knew they were amping up for a ‘step’ in their relationship, if half overheard whispered conversations were anything to go by.

“So,” he murmured nervously, absently playing with a latch on his prosthetic, “You guys wanted to talk?” In no way did he want to part ways with the others, his heart finally no longer racing in fear when Lewis approached, or worry when Vivi began ranting about the paranormal. Instead, he’d found himself back in the headspace he’d been in before the cave. That cursed feeling of wanting more than he could ever ask for from the other two. It had been what let the demon inside in the first place, but he couldn’t help himself. Lewis’ kind heart and Vivi’s exuberance had always been like a beacon to him. And he knew he should be nothing but happy for them, even if he did often feel like he was being left out in the cold. He hated himself for it.

“We certainly did,” Vivi nodded, hands clasped in her lap as Lewis sat beside her on the couch, across from where Arthur was huddled in a recliner.

“…About?” Arthur prompted as neither made a move to continue.

“It’s…it’s hard to explain,” Lewis muttered, looking bashful, his fingers finding their way to his ascot to pull at it nervously.

“It’s really not,” Vivi sighed, a pinched look on her face, “just hard to broach. See, Arthur,” she took a breath, “Lewis and I are really happy. Like, moon and stars sort of bullshit you read in those trashy romance novels Lewis likes so much-”

“Hey!”

“Don’t start, Lewis. You know as well as I do those are trash. Anyway! Back on track. You see, Artie, we’re really happy, but-”

“You want me to move out,” Arthur cut her off with a wave of his hand, sardonic smile on his face. “It’s okay. I knew this day was coming, I just didn’t-I was being selfish, staying here so long. You guys need to get on with your lives, and having a roommate isn’t exactly what most couples want when they’re trying to get on with their lives, so to speak. I get it, you guys don’t need to worry. I’ve already got some of my stuff packed up.”

Vivi and Lewis were giving him wide-eyed stares of disbelief, causing Arthur to shift uncomfortably and curl further into the chair he was in. “You know, it’s really okay, guys. Did you think I was going to put up a fuss?”

“No!” Lewis suddenly spat out, his chest heaving as he took in a breath he didn’t need, “Arthur, no! That’s not what we wanted to talk about.” He looked so forlorn, Arthur felt like he’d just kicked a puppy in front of him.

“The exact opposite, actually,” Vivi said, sounding upset, “Arthur, what would make you think we wanted you to move out?”

“Well,” Arthur rolled his shoulders, half shrugging, “You guys are finally settling back into the way things used to be, and moving on. I overheard you a couple nights ago, conspiring about ‘moving forward’, so I figured, you know. You guys wanted to be a real couple and have your own place and stuff. You can’t do that with me here.”

“We can’t do it without you here, either, Arthur,” Lewis stated, rising from his seat and striding over to Arthur’s chair, startling the blonde slightly as he knelt down. “We love you, Arthur. We don’t want you to leave.”

“Yeah, but-”

“No, Arthur,” Vivi cut him off, also moving to the chair, “We love you.”

“Thanks, guys, really, I get it, but I’m not going to hold you two back,” Arthur shook his head, frown on his lips.

“He’s not going to get it until one of you kisses him,” Mystery suddenly pipped up, wandering into the living room with a less than pleased look on his face as he trotted over to his dog bed in the corner of the room.

“Kiss me? What?” Arthur looked towards Mystery, before being startled by Vivi grabbing his face and turning his attention back towards her.

“We love you, idiot,” she scolded, her frown turning into a smile as she planted a kiss on Arthur’s lips, “Apparently we need to spell it out for you.”

“You were our ‘moving forward’, Arthur. Our dynamic doesn’t work without you. And we both realized that without you, life wouldn’t be nearly as interesting,” Lewis chuckled, gently prying Vivi’s hands from Arthur’s face to tilt the blonde’s face in his direction. “We love you, Arthur Kingsmen. We want you to stay with us, for as long as you’ll have us.” A light dusting of pink coloured Lewis’ face as a bashful smile curled his lips. “May I kiss you, too?”

Arthur’s mind was swirling in surprise and disbelief, even as he nodded and Lewis’ lips pressed softly into his own.


End file.
